You can't describe it

These adjectives and many others, describe the feelings and emotions that people have had, as they stood gazing out across the Grand Canyon. (heavy sigh) At that moment, there are no words. Just deep emotional feelings. Peaceful and soothing.

I walked around for hours inside the Louvre in Paris. All those words I spoke of came to mind quite often.
There is so much beauty and creation and life in every room and around every corner. Rembrandts that were 10-12 feet tall. The Mona Lisa. The statue of David. You could spend a lifetime wandering around in complete sensory overload. (quiet sigh)

As you enter Notre Dame Cathedral, through a very old looking heavy wooden door, you immediately feel such a sense of solemnity, peacefulness, calming. I stood just inside the door for a few minutes, just staring around that incredible structure. The arches, stained glass, stone work and so much more. Again, words are inadequate. (more heavy sighing)

I have been to a number of countries, and I saw castles, mansions, churches, cathedrals, mountain rages, museums and whole lot more. And the more I traveled, the more I found myself standing somewhere or another, my mouth wide open, almost putting my jaw on my chest. My eyes way open and filled with amazement. A tiny trickle of a smile forming around my mouth.
There you are, in front of some monument or crossing the Alps or walking through the redwoods, Those adjectives I mentioned, flood the body and the brain. Some experiences that pass through our lives, not only create lasting impressions and wonderful memories, that, when you think of those times and places and people, well, it just warms your body and your soul. And it quite often leaves us yearning for just one more visit, one more picture, one more quiet contemplating moment before you must return to this quite insane world and back to some semblance of reality.

Now, these same aforementioned descriptive expressions, have been used to try and explain to those back home, how absolutely fantastic a visit to a Couples location can be.
But more often than not, those words we use to try and describe the beauty all around you, or the feelings you felt on a sultry moon lit night, or the deliciousness of Pumpkin soup, have little or no impact on others, until they too go. Then they will know.

That saying of "once you go, you know" could not be more true. Having taken our first trip, our honeymoon, last October, we now know. We were in total awe of CSS. Yea, it's old, a bit rough around the edges, there's no granite and marble, no over the top decor. etc. It's a throwback in time. To a simpler time where you truly experience a grandeur of sorts that some think come from fancy decor. The real jewel of these resorts are the staff. The " welcome home" as you arrive, the friendly smiles, the " no problem mon". All of us who have experienced this are lucky beyond belief.
My amazing wife and I have traveled in the past, to some amazing places, and I can honestly say that CSS is a true paradise. I know that we all have our favorite Couples resort, yours being CTI, but to us CSS is our second home. We arrived this year to the same welcome home and promptly walked through the lobby to look out over the balloon bar patio and pool, paused for a moment, and felt the AWWWWWWWWW WE ARE HOME!!!! It actually brought a tear to my eye. It was like being reunited with an old friend and CSS enveloped us in a hug.
My second tear was when Antony , a super staff member, showed up at our door. My third tear happened when the sax player started his rounds just below our balcony.
We pretty much spent the whole week just taking in the amazement of this place. We didn't do excursions, we didn't do water-sports, we didn't do tours, we didn't do a day exchange, we just sat. We sat on the balcony, we sat for breakfast, we sat at the pool at SSB, we sat for dinner...and we couldn't be happier!!! The ambiance that Couples gives us is a quality that many will not notice, but guys like you and I and many repeaters will "get".
Yes there are many wonders in the world that you can say many things about, but to us CSS is the bomb, the cats meow, the peak, the one and only. Hopefully, God willing, we can repeat as many times as you have.
My friends keep saying, " why not try different places" or " travel the world". I keep saying "why"??? I know that we would only compare everything to Couples. Even on a cruise back in February, On the Oasis of the Seas, the largest luxury cruise liner ever built, we found ourselves wishing we were at CSS. We may be a lost cause to some, but not to us. Paradise found, paradise re-visited. Bring on October 2013. We still live each day in anticipation of leaving here and landing in Mobay, taking the bus, the stop on the way, and finally arriving at our second home. Until then, we will bear down, do the daily grind, and look forward to the day we hear " welcome home".

novastar I'm glad you enjoyed your first experience at CSS. It really is gorgeous. We stayed there once when COR was becoming CTI. We loved it. But, like many others who had been to any of the four resorts, the "first one" becomes magic, and often times, the favorite. There are as many stories as to why each couple prefers one place over another, as there are grains of sand on the beach. But that's okay. Diversity is fine. There's plenty to go around.

We're at that stage now, in single digits, where every minute is an hour, and every hour takes forever. This is number 34 to CTI, and we are more excited now then we were 17 years ago. I hope you both can do the same.